This invention relates generally to hardware items, and more particularly to decorative hardware items having a pair of posts and an interconnecting cross member, such as handles, pulls, towel bars, tissue holders, grab bars, etc.
Today, a variety of decorative hardware items having a pair of posts and an interconnecting cross member are commercially available from various manufacturers. Such hardware is typically constructed as an integral unit from solid material or as an assembly of various components which are secured together at glue or other adhesive joints or utilizing threaded fasteners.
While such prior art components are suitable for their intended purposes they leave much to be desired from the standpoints of easy fabrication and/or assembly, ability to be assembled in a wide variety of configurations, and stability, e.g., resistance to accidental disassembly.
Various Letters Patent of the United States disclose towel bars and other decorative hardware items formed of plural components which are secured together and which exhibit the disadvantages of the prior art mentioned above, such as: U.S. Pat. Nos. 112,004 (Alsop) 457,977 (Wilkening) 586,080 (Thompson) 1,190,453 (Pease) 2,374,787 (Spiegel et al.); and 2,848,389 (Friend). German Patent No. 369030 discloses an item of decorative hardware made up of plural components which also suffers from those disadvantages.